Castle Farm Café Bath Restaurant Review

A grey linen napkin is topped with a white plate. On top of the plate is a fillet of crispy fish topped with slices of potatoes, radish and grennery

Who's cooking?

To be found on an organic 45-acre farm, husband-and-wife duo Pravin and Leah Nayar took over this café and farm shop in the summer of 2018. Formerly head chef at The Beckford Arms in Tisbury and The Talbot Inn in Mells, Pravin’s Swedish-Malaysian heritage is reflected in his love for fragrant curries and pillowy cinnamon buns.

A man is wearing a blue top and denim apron. He is holding a pestle and mortar and is smiling, looking in the distance — Owner Pravin Nayar in the kitchen

What's the vibe?

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It’s brilliantly eclectic and relaxed; a minimalist whitewashed space with mismatched tables, an open kitchen and a sprinkling of fairy lights. The team are warm and seem to genuinely enjoy what they do, making it the perfect spot for anything from a romantic dinner to a family-style Sunday roast.

Two men are in an open plan kitchen laughing. They are both wearing aprons and in the background there is a pizza oven. There are fairy lights strung in the background — The open plan kitchen with a pizza oven

What's the food like?

Driven by what’s available on the farm, they don’t put labels on the style of food but decide on any given day on the sorts of things they think you might want to eat. It might be homemade gnocchi with local cheese, blistered sourdough pizzas or soothing soups and broths using what’s in season on the farm. On weekend evenings they step it up a notch with Friday night curries and Saturday night supper clubs. We’ve tried both, but Pravin’s curry-making ability is knockout.

A pale blue plate topped with pan fried gnocchi, courgette flowers and shavings of Somerset cheese — Gnocchi with courgette flowers and Somerset cheese

A ‘snack’ of charred aubergine, dressed with peanuts, roasted garlic and lime, has gorgeous textures and lovely warm heat, while Fowey mussels and clams in a coconut milk, lemongrass and chilli broth smack with flavour.

The highlight of the menu, on our last visit, though, is a Brixham mackerel and crab curry, sweet with coconut, sour with tamarind and mopped up with buttery roti canai. Chicken varuval is dry and intense and pitched at our limit of spicy without being over the top. Pudding isn’t needed but chocolate mousse with savoury notes of pumpkin, ginger, sea salt and smoked oil is greedily demolished nonetheless.

A speckled tray topped with a bowl filled with vibrant orange curry, a wedge of lime and roti canai. In the background is a bowl of mussels — Brixham mackerel and crab curry with roti canai

And the drinks?

You’ll find everything from mean espresso martinis to local kombucha, Kettlesmith beer to Honey’s cider, as well as a well-chosen wine of every colour available by the bottle and glass.